


Feelings

by heatgeneratingtechniques



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, the Mclaughlin-Neals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-08-27 15:47:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8407495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heatgeneratingtechniques/pseuds/heatgeneratingtechniques
Summary: Link’s confession changes their relationship more than either of them expect.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This went in a very different direction than I'd planned, but I hope it turned out all right!

Two familiar figures stood together on the shore of the lake, silhouetted by the clear light of the gibbous moon above. Rhett watched them from his spot further back in the trees. He had left his other friends chatting by the fire, not wanting to talk but also not wanting to retreat to his tent to sleep yet. He had finally decided to head for the nearby lake. But the unexpected sight of his best friend with his fiancée left a sick feeling in his stomach. He tried telling himself it came from eating too many s’mores, but he knew better. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he turned away.

“–about Rhett,” he heard Link say, the sound of his own name stopping him in his tracks.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Christy asked.

Link’s head was bowed. “I gotta tell you something about him. Or me, but it has to do with him.”

Rhett frowned. What was there to tell? A story of one of the pranks they’d pulled or trouble they’d instigated on-campus, maybe. He mentally flipped through the things he and Link had done together in the previous weeks, but nothing stood out to him as particularly strange.

“Look,” Link was saying, “you know he’s been my best friend since first grade. Well in-in high school, I started… I started…” He slapped a hand against his thigh in sudden frustration. “Dang it, I don’t know how to say this!”

Christy reached for his hand, but he brushed her away.

“You probably won’t wanna be near me once I tell you this,” Link stammered. “But I gotta… I gotta tell you. And look Christy, no matter what I’m gonna say, you gotta understand that I never did nothin’ wrong. I never–”

“Wait.” Christy’s voice sharpened. “Are you breaking up with me?”

“No! I–”

“Have you been _cheating_ on me?”

“No no, never!” Link was waving his hands, a note of terror in his voice. “Just listen to me Christy, please.”

She subsided into silence.

“Rhett’s my best friend,” Link said again. “But there’s been… ugh, I don’t even know how to say it. F-feelings, I guess? Yeah. I-I have feelings for him.”

Rhett’s stomach gave a lurch.

“I thought it was just somethin’ stupid from high school that would go away, but it hasn’t,” Link was speaking more quickly now, now that he’d cleared the first hurdle. “I like him and it’s been tearin’ me up because I know I shouldn’t, but I didn’t wanna keep this from you.”

When Christy didn’t speak, he turned towards her again. “I’m sorry,” he said in a small voice.

Her voice was shaky. “Does he know?”

“No. Never told ‘im.” Link chuckled bitterly. “I don’t think he’d take it so well, anyway.”

“Have you ever had… feelings for other guys, too?”

“No,” Link said softly. “Only him.”

Silence stretched between them. Rhett’s eyes stung at this news. High school, Link had said. _Since high school._ He didn’t know that his feelings mirrored what Rhett had been fighting since middle school. He didn’t know of Rhett’s recurring dream where the two of them lay side-by-side, Rhett always waking up before he could see Link’s face. He didn’t know of that time at the beach when Rhett had taken care of himself to the thought of his best friend shirtless and had spent the rest of day in a mire of self-loathing.

Yet here was Link, pouring his heart out to his wife-to-be like it wasn’t a big deal. Almost made Rhett want to laugh despite his tears.

Christy was silent, her arms wrapped around herself. Link reached for her, thought better of it, and offered her a packet of tissues from his pocket instead.

“I thought somethin’ was goin’ on,” she said, almost too softly for Rhett to hear. “I thought it was different, the friendship you two had, and how you’re always spendin’ time together, but I didn’t think anything like that was going on.”

“Nothing’s going on,” Link insisted. “I promise, it’s just me feeling things–”

“Do you love me?” she whispered, wiping at her eyes. “Look at me, Link. Do you?”

“Yes,” Link said meekly.

She sniffed. “You weren’t wantin’ to get married just because you thought it would fix things? So you wouldn’t be thinking about Rhett so much?”

“I just told you the truth!” Link snapped, voice echoing across the lake. He bowed his head. “I’m sorry,” he added more quietly. “I just… listen, what have we been talking about in marriage counseling?”

“Trust. Secrets and how they can be damaging.”

“Yeah. Exactly. I was thinking about how I didn’t want to have any secrets from you, and that was the only secret I had. Now you know everything. If you wanna break off the engagement, I…” His voice cracked. “I’ll understand.”

Rhett realized he had been frozen in place only because his back began to protest. Silently, he sank to his knees, careful not to disturb the dry leaves there.

“I love you, Link,” Christy was saying, her voice stronger now. “And I know you’re not lying. You’re terrible at that.”

“So… you still want to get married?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, and the strangest combination of relief and sadness washed over Rhett. “But I need you to do something for me, Link.”

“Anything.”

“I need you to tell him.”

Rhett’s head snapped up at that. _What?_

“What?” Link laughed nervously. “No baby, listen, he’s not gonna want to hear it–”

“Link.” She reached for him then, took his hand in hers. “I’ve seen the way you obsess over things. I’ve seen the way you latch onto problems and never let them go until they get resolved. I know you. I know that if you never tell him the truth, you’ll never have a moment of peace. Besides,” she added as he began shaking his head slowly, “have you noticed how he looks at you sometimes?”

Link snorted. “You must’ve confused him lookin’ at me with him lookin’ at the food I was probably carrying at the time.”

“It was something I noticed the first time I came over to your place,” Christy continued. “He saw you and he looked like he’d just seen an angel.”

 _Oh gosh._ As Link protested her claims, Rhett felt his face growing hot. He had been in awe of the shy happiness on Link’s face as he introduced his roommates to his girlfriend. He had thought he’d been surreptitious in watching them interact, envying how easily she took Link’s hand and rested her head on his shoulder. _I wasn’t_ that _obvious, was I?_

“Babe,” Christy says gently, “you really should talk to him.”

“He has a girlfriend,” Link said weakly.

“Jessie. I know.” She leaned against his shoulder. “Talk to him anyway.”

“I’ll try,” he said, but Rhett thought he still sounded unconvinced.

They were quiet for some time. Rhett glanced at his watch; it was long past midnight, but he still felt wide awake.

“You cold?” Link asked. Christy nodded.

“Here.” He unzipped his hoodie and draped it across her shoulders, pulling her close to him in the same motion. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you,” he whispered.

They walked on after a while, arms linked across each other’s backs. Christy began asking Link about him and Rhett, their relationship, what he thought might happen when they finally talked about this.

“And you two _will_ talk about this,” she said firmly. “I’ll make sure it happens.”

Link said something else, but they were already out of earshot. Rhett was left sitting alone in the dark, his mind fixated on one thing.

_He likes you, too._

The thought made his eyes water again. The faintest breath of a chuckle escaped his lips as he wiped his face dry. He laughed at how ridiculous he must look, a grown man in tears after eavesdropping on his best friend.

Rhett said it out loud. “He likes you, too.” In the darkness, the words sounded foreign, but he latched onto them and repeated them to himself.

He might have stayed there for hours, his thoughts in shambles, if he hadn’t heard a few of his friends calling his name and seen flashlights bobbing nearby.

“I’m here!” With a groan, he struggled to stand on legs that had long since fallen asleep. He felt numb all over, and not just from the cold.

This wasn’t a dream. The thought made him smile again.

“Rhett?”

Link’s voice. A flashlight was shone full on his face before being hastily turned aside.

“Hey man, we were looking for you.”

Rhett spread his arms wide. “Just wanted to see the moon on the lake before bed.”

“Yeah, it’s real pretty, ain’t it.” Link raised his voice. “I found him, y’all!”

There was an answering chorus of relieved voices, as loud footsteps and flashlights turned back towards the camp. Rhett tried to decode the expression on Link’s face, but he just seemed concerned and a little tired.

“Hey,” Link said as they walked back to the campsite together. “Remind me tomorrow that I gotta tell you something. A-and Jessie, too.”

“Yeah?” Rhett glanced at him, but Link’s attention was on making sure he didn’t trip over any hidden branches on the ground.

“It’s… it’s really dumb,” Link said hesitantly. “Just make sure I don’t forget.”

_Or chicken out?_

Rhett wasn’t feeling particularly brave himself, come to think of it. “All right.”

Their campsite came into view, four large tents clustered around a fire where their friends were laughing and talking. They tried to convince Rhett to get his guitar out, as he’d been providing musical accompaniment earlier, but he claimed exhaustion and retreated to his tent.

As he zipped the tent flap closed behind him, he caught sight of Link watching him. It was a look he’d only seen Link give Christy before, full of warmth and longing. Rhett quickly dropped his gaze, but he understood it.

_He likes you, too._

He smiled then, his face warm at the thought of the possibilities ahead.

Tomorrow they’d talk. But for now, sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one-shot kept bugging me until I decided to expand it. This fic will contain a lot of their families, so consider this your warning if you'd prefer not to read that content! Thanks to [pringlesaremydivision](http://archiveofourown.org/users/pringlesaremydivision/) for beta-reading. <3

In those quiet moments at night when Rhett was completely honest with himself, he’d admitted that he’d wanted to kiss Link since sixth grade. Even after he thought and prayed and wondered if there was something wrong with him, he couldn’t convince himself otherwise. The want remained, waxing and waning throughout their school years as they dated other girls and started a band and attended NC State together. In college, the want intensified, becoming a craving that ate away at his usual sense of calm.

He’d managed to suppress his want (or so he’d thought) until Christy came along. Link proposing to her had been a shock, but Rhett had told himself that he was happy for his best friend. He liked Christy. She was able to both match Link’s sharp tongue and calm his temper in ways Rhett never could. Rhett saw how sweetly she looked at Link and despite his own need, he was happy for them. He was happy himself. He and Jessie were dating very seriously, and even though he didn’t have a ring yet, he’d already spoken to both his and her parents about proposing.

He told himself that wanting Link was too much. He was being greedy. Even after he heard Link’s confession to Christy at the lake, he convinced himself that nothing would ever come of it. He emptied most of his savings account to buy an engagement ring for Jessie, reasoning that one he and Link were married to their respective wives, this would all become nothing more than an embarrassing memory.

But when Link poked his head through the doorway of his bedroom one afternoon to ask if he wanted to get dinner, he almost said no. He hadn’t been avoiding Link _per se,_ but he had been offering excuses every time his friends wanted to hang out. Maybe—

“Do you wanna get dinner or not?” Link asked impatiently.

“Yeah,” Rhett said. He _was_ pretty hungry, now that he thought about it. His face was reddening so fast that it seemed incredible that Link couldn’t read his thoughts.

But his friend only said, “I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready.” He sauntered away down the hall, leaving Rhett a sweating mess.

The evening was unusually cool, the air sharp with the promise of impending frost. Rhett shivered in his sweatshirt and wished he’d remembered his hat. Link offered to pay for dinner as he drove, which instantly made Rhett suspicious. This was unusual. Link had never voluntarily offered to spend money unless he was paying Rhett back for something.

They went to an all-you-can-eat buffet that apparently offered a discount to college students, which made Rhett laugh.

“What?” Link asked. He was smiling halfway in something between amusement and confusion.

“Man, I knew you were cheap.” Rhett shook his head as he went to join the buffet line.

Link didn’t speak or even eat much during the meal, while Rhett got second and third helpings of chicken and mac and cheese.

“You don’t want none?” he asked when Link was still toying with his first plate.

“Eh… nah, I’m good.” Link pushed the plate away. “I need to tell you something, man.”

“Yeah?”

Link’s gaze was on the table. “I was talking to Christy about this while we were camping,” he said, his voice barely audible above the chatter around them.

Rhett was suddenly not hungry. “What.”

“Well, see… I’ve been…” Link was struggling to get the words out. Rhett waited, his heartbeat mounting with each breath. He wanted to tell Link _shut up, I know, you don’t have to say it_ , but he was paralyzed as his best friend began speaking again.

Link had been thinking a lot, see. He’d been thinking about the friends in his life, and Rhett especially, as he and Christy began wedding preparations. And as he’d been spending time with Christy, he’d finally come to accept that what he felt for her was similar to what he felt for Rhett.

“Well, m-maybe not the same,” he said hastily, eyes flicking up briefly to meet Rhett’s before dropping to the table again. “I don’t know. I just know it’s me wanting to be more than just your friend.”

Rhett knew this had been coming, but his stomach still twisted at Link’s words. He realized he was still holding his fork in midair, so he let it fall to his plate with a clatter. The server bustled up to collect their empty dishes and, confronted with bewildered stares, bustled away again. The occupants of the next booth over burst into raucous laughter over a joke one of them had told. He didn’t know what to say. The fact that Link wouldn’t look at him almost hurt.

“It’s not just you,” Rhett managed finally.

“You don’t hafta spare my feelings, man,” Link protested. “Christy wanted me to tell you. She said it wasn’t right for me to have secrets from either her or you.” He spread his hands palm-up on the table. “So there you go.”

“It’s not just you,” Rhett said again. “I heard you and Christy talking by the lake that night.”

Link looked up in terror, but Rhett pushed forward. He fumbled with the words, explaining how he’d felt about Link for years. It was embarrassing to get it all out in the open, but as he talked, everything began to make sense. Why had he been so keen on hiding this before? Link already knew all of his other secrets, so why not this one? When he finally fell silent, neither of them spoke for a while.

“That’s... that’s cool, man,” Link said finally. He sounded dazed.

It was Rhett’s turn to stare at the table. “Yeah.”

Link didn’t speak again until they’d left the buffet and were back in his truck.

“You wanna go home?” he asked, one hand on the steering wheel.

“No,” Rhett said quietly. The thought of having to face Gregg with the knowledge that his relationship with Link was now completely different was too much. Link seemed to think the same, because he only nodded and started the engine.

There was a Haggard tape in the cassette player, as always. Rhett drew some comfort from the music. Link fired a dizzying array of questions at Rhett as he drove aimlessly through the streets. He wanted to know _everything_.

“What made you decide you... _liked_ me?” he asked.

Rhett was leaning against the door with his head in his hand. “Y-you were always there,” he said simply. “You never left when you could have, like when my dad said he wouldn’t pay for film school.”

“Does Jessie know?” Link asked.

Rhett shook his head no. “You have way more guts than me to just tell Christy like that.”

Link chuckled. “I didn’t ‘just tell her,’ man. I thought about it for a long freaking time.”

It wasn’t until they had pulled up in front of their house that Rhett voiced the question that had been looming at the back of his mind all night. “What now?”

“I don’t know,” Link said. He drew one knee up to his chest and clasped both arms around it. The pose made him look exceptionally small, Rhett thought, as if he could sweep Link off his feet the way he could with his own girlfriend–

“You need to tell her.”

It took Rhett a split second to realize that Link had _not_ read his mind, but he _was_ talking about Jessie.

“Why?” he protested.

“You really like her, don’t you?” Link asked. “How would _you_ feel if you guys got married and then twenty years down the road, you found out she’d been hiding feelings for _her_ best friend?”

The thought of telling Jessie filled Rhett with a sense of dread. “I-I can’t do that, man.”

“Wow.” Link shook his head. “So I put myself out there, I tell the people who are gonna be affected by this the most, and you just get to sit back and pretend nothing’s wrong?”

“What am I supposed to say to her?” Rhett demanded.

Link shrugged. “What did you hear me say to Christy? Maybe start there.”

Rhett felt himself nearing panic in the face of Link’s calm. “What if I just wait and see? We might break up.”

Link grinned at that. “I know you, man. I know you want to marry her. You got them heart eyes when you look at her.”

An image of Jessie passed through his mind, her eyes shining as she smiled up at him, and he felt his face get hot. “What are you talking about?”

Now Link laughed for real, a high, breathy sound that made Rhett’s heart flutter in spite of himself. “Seriously man! Tell her! Let her know about the mess she’d be getting into if she married you. She deserves to know.”

“Why does it have to be a mess?” Rhett demanded.

He felt his heart rate mount at the intensity of Link’s stare.

“Gosh, Rhett.” Link’s voice rose in exasperation. “Do you think I just wanted to tell you how I felt and leave it at that?”

“What?” Rhett felt suddenly lost, nervous with the direction the conversation was headed.

“Do I gotta spell it out for you?” Link rolled his eyes. “Look. If I was a girl and we were both single and liked each other, what would you do next?”

Rhett was almost shivering now, but he gripped his knee with a sweaty hand to steady himself. “I’d... I’d want to go out with you. But–”

“Exactly.”

“But we can’t do that! We have women we both love, right? Plus...” Rhett’s tongue flicked over his lips. “Y-you’re a guy.”

“It’s not like people haven’t called us gay before,” Link reminded him.

Just hearing the word said aloud made Rhett cringe. “But that was a joke!” he protested. “It wasn’t true. I’ve never liked other guys. It’s just… you.”

“And _you_ is _me_ and _I_ am a _guy._ Just go with it, Rhett. You have feelings for another guy. That’s gay whether you like it or not.” With a sigh, Link turned away to look down the street. For a moment he looked very old and tired. “I don’t know what else to tell you, man,” he said quietly. “I don’t know what we should do next. But I still think hiding this from Jessie would be a mistake.”


	3. Chapter 3

Jessie wasn’t happy with him and Rhett really couldn’t blame her.

They were out bowling with friends that Friday night when he told her. Not the best idea in retrospect, but it made some kind of sense in his mind at the time. He had been putting off telling her everything, making excuses every time Link and Christy asked him about it. Link wasn’t with them for once, as he and Christy had already planned a date for that night. It was for the best, Rhett thought. The tension between him and Link had grown instead of dissipating since their talk, and Rhett almost wished he’d never admitted his feelings out loud.

 _Too late_.

Now, Jessie was annoyed with him for not mustering up any enthusiasm for their games. After a couple of lackluster rounds, he finally pulled her aside to a booth by the arcade behind the bowling lanes. He told her everything, speaking beneath the sounds of balls hitting pins and cheering from the other lanes. He thought she might cry at first, but she only became very quiet. As soon as he finished talking, though, she asked if he was joking.

“No.” Rhett ran his tongue over his lips. “But listen Jessie, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you–”

She made a skeptical noise. “I can’t believe you, Rhett.” Without another word, she got up from the booth and began buttoning her coat.

He tried to talk her into staying – please Jessie _please_ – but the words came out all wrong and tangled and seemed to make her more upset. He put a hand on her shoulder, but she violently shook him off as if he had burned her.

“Don’t touch me,” she said quietly. Her eyes were burning with anger. “I’m going home. And,” she added as he opened his mouth to speak again, “you _better_ not try calling me later.”

Overall, she took the news better than Rhett expected, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less.

The stupid ring was still in his pocket. He had a fleeting thought of hurling it at the bowling pins at the end of the alley but decided against it. He hadn’t proposed yet; might as well return it and get his money back.

He left the bowling alley soon afterwards in a daze of misery, offering his puzzled friends a flimsy excuse about feeling sick from eating too much pizza. It was only partially a lie. The beginnings of a headache were beginning to pulse behind his eyes. He dragged himself home and collapsed face-down on his bed.

Sometime later, he jerked awake to the sound of the door slamming downstairs. Gregg was out of town for the weekend, so it Link was back from his date. Seemed like he was alone too, as Rhett didn’t hear Christy’s voice at all. He listened as slow footsteps climbed the stairs to the bathroom. The shower turned on briefly, followed by more footsteps and the sound of Link’s bedroom slamming shut. After a moment, Rhett got up and shuffled to his friend’s door.

“You still awake, Link?”

Any other time, he would’ve barged in without a second thought, but ever since their discussion at the buffet, they had been treating each other’s personal space as sacred.

“Come in,” came the tired reply.

Link was sitting on his bed with his back against the wall, his damp hair pushed back from his face. The fact that he was still wearing nothing but his towel made Rhett’s mouth go dry.

“Sorry,” he said, fumbling for the door behind him.

“Wait, man.” Link patted the bed beside him. “Come sit down.”

Any other time, he would have hopped on Link’s bed, his thoughts of wanting anything more tucked safely away from years of practice. Now, those thoughts teeming just beneath the surface, he chose to sit at Link’s desk instead, his hands folded in his lap.

In the corner, Link’s radio was chattering away, something about local sports news between bursts of static.

“You okay?” Link asked after a moment.

“We broke up.” Rhett threw the words into the air with no preamble, no attempt at softening the blow he knew he’d inflict.

Link was twisting a corner of his towel between his fingers. “I’m sorry, Rhett.”

“Did I tell you I bought her a ring? Look.” He laughed bitterly as he fished the small box from his pocket and dropped it on Link’s desk. “I’ve been carrying this damn thing around, waiting for the perfect moment to propose...” Saying it out loud made everything hurt all over again. His eyes began watering.

Link winced. “I’m sorry, man,” he said again. “I shouldn’t have said anything about this. I–”

“She thinks we’ve done things,” Rhett said abruptly.

Silence stretched between them. Link was watching him strangely as he ran his fist up and down his leg, from thigh to knee and back again. Rhett’s eyes were drawn to it, drawn to thinking about what was beneath the towel. His face grew hot.

“Come here, man.”

Gingerly, Rhett moved to the bed, keeping both hands folded in his lap. Link sighed.

“You don’t gotta be scared of me, Rhett.”

“I’m not scared,” Rhett said quickly, a well-practiced phrase from years of showing off.

“Why are you here?” Link asked again, a note of exasperation in his voice now.

“I…” Rhett shrugged. “I just thought I should let you know that we broke up.”

Link got up from the bed, holding his towel in place with one hand while he rummaged in his dresser for underwear with the other. Rhett began worrying the skin of his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Maybe I just want a break,” Rhett said quietly.

Link found a pair of briefs. He had a swift way of slipping them on and dropping his towel without exposing himself at all. He pulled an old pair of pajama bottoms over that before turning back to Rhett. “Christy said something like that, too, y’know. On our ‘date.’” He emphasized the last word with air quotes. “She didn’t give back the ring, though, so there’s some hope.” With a bitter laugh, he sat down on the bed again.

They listened to the radio for a while as the talk show host took a series of callers wanting to complain about the current state of college football. Rhett eventually got tired of the static and got up, switching to a country music station that came through more clearly. A deep-voiced singer crooned softly, words of love and regret.

Link tapped a finger along with the music, eyes closed, his head tilted back against the wall. “Hey, Rhett?”

“Yeah.”

“What would you say if I asked you to kiss me?”

All coherent thought fled Rhett’s mind. “What—”

“Nothing has to happen,” Link said quickly. He turned to fix Rhett with a sharp gaze. “I’ve just wondered sometimes. What it would be like.” After a moment he added more softly, “Kissing you.”

Rhett’s heart was thumping madly. He couldn’t deny that he’d thought the same in moments of extreme weakness, when he was particularly lonely or mentally vulnerable. But thinking and speaking about kissing one’s best friend were two different things entirely.

But Link was watching him so strangely. He was trying not to smile, Rhett realized. He wanted this.

When he leaned in, Link met him halfway.

The first kiss didn’t feel quite the way Rhett had imagined it would. Dry and hesitant at first, but Link’s hand curled behind his head and his tongue prodded at Rhett’s lips and, when he opened his mouth to protest, they began kissing for real. Link tasted strongly of toothpaste, which wasn’t entirely unpleasant. After a moment, he hummed into Rhett’s mouth, a long, low vibration full of _want_ that shook Rhett to his very core.

 _Too much, too much._ He broke the kiss, his face afire as he tried to catch his breath. Link let out a stream of hysterical laughter before clapping a hand over his mouth. He’d known Rhett would go for it, of course. He’d been counting on it, counting on Rhett to take the unspoken dare after years of watching him never back down from any challenge.

“There,” Rhett said finally. “I kissed you. Happy?”

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it,” Link said, still giggling.

“Yes, you did,” Rhett snapped more sharply than he’d intended. “And stop trying to be all shy now that you got what you want.”

Link’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, now you wanna tell me that you _didn’t_ want to want to kiss me?”

“I did. And that’s part of the problem.”

“There’s an easy solution to that.” Link was grinning again, that crooked smile that meant he was in an unpredictable mood. He edged closer to Rhett, who was suddenly keenly aware of how very shirtless his best friend was.

“What?”

“Kiss me again.”

It was easier the second time, mouths opening on contact. Heat slowly spread through Rhett’s stomach, a familiar feeling in a decidedly unfamiliar setting. It was his turn to be the aggressor now, large hands boldly pushing Link onto his back in the sheets before they kissed again. Nothing felt real anymore, not the lips hot and wet against his own, not the bare expanse of chest slowly rising and falling beneath him, not the music on the radio. This was a dream, a wonderful dream, and Rhett didn’t want it to end. Link watched him through heavy lidded eyes, his hands loose at his sides. He wanted more. He wasn’t going to stop if Rhett didn’t want to. As he looked away from Link’s intense gaze, Rhett’s eyes fell on the ring box he’d dropped on his friend’s desk.

The spell was broken. In a sudden panic, Rhett pulled away, almost tripping over himself in his haste to get off the bed.

“Rhett, no, wait!”

He stopped, one hand frozen in the act of grabbing the velvet box. “I still want to marry her.” His voice was less steady than he’d intended.

Link propped himself up on one elbow, looking almost worried. “I-I know. I still want to marry Christy too, man. This is just so _weird_. I shouldn’t have—”

“It’s okay,” Rhett said, more out of habit than anything else. He tucked the ring back in his pocket.

The music on the radio gave way to a commercial break, a man’s grating voice rattling on about car insurance. Rhett crossed the room in quick strides and turned it off.

Link sank back onto the bed. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into the silence, his voice almost mournful. He passed a shaking hand over his face. “That was real stupid of me, asking you for a kiss. Pretty selfish. It’s just... it’s just been a long night.”

“I know.” Seeing his best friend sad was almost more upsetting than anything else that had happened that night. Rhett came back to sit on the edge of the bed. “Hey.”

“I like you both, Rhett,” Link whispered. “I like you both but I’m scared I messed things up for good with Christy a-and—” His voice was rising. “—I don’t want to lose her! But you’re here now. I-I don’t want to lose you either.”

“You won’t.” Rhett’s hand found Link’s and squeezed. “I’m not leaving you, man. We’ll figure this out.” It made him feel hopeful to say it aloud, so he repeated it. “We’ll figure something out.”

Link let out a faint laugh, his bare stomach contracting with each breath.

“What?”

“Your hands are so dang sweaty.” Rhett opened his mouth to protest, but the words died on his lips when Link’s bright eyes met his.

“Can you sleep with me tonight?” Link asked tentatively. “N-not like that!” he stammered hastily, his face reddening. “I just don’t want to alone for a while.”

Rhett understood. With only slight hesitation, he got up to turn off the light and shuck off his jeans before climbing back in bed with his best friend. It was strange but comforting too, for them to be sharing a bed for the first time since elementary school. The thought flashed across Rhett’s mind again— _is this a dream?_ — as he pulled the covers over them both. Link’s body curled towards his and in an instant Rhett wanted to take him in both arms and inhale the scent of his freshly washed hair. Instead, he closed his eyes and let the sound of Link’s deep breathing lull him to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Gradually, the tension between them eased. They began talking and spending time together again, but there was a new hesitance in their behavior that Link thought must be glaringly obvious to everyone around them. 

They hadn’t kissed after that night. Link wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

Gregg commented that they seemed to be walking on eggshells around each other, but otherwise left them alone, which Link appreciated.

“You’re welcome to join us!” he yelled after Gregg one night when their roommate had walked in on the two of them sitting beside each other on the floor of Link’s room. Rhett was playing a song he’d written on guitar, but froze at the interruption.

“I have my girlfriend for cuddling, thanks,” Gregg yelled back as he walked away. “Have fun, you guys.”

Rhett set his guitar aside, his face suddenly grim.

“You don’t need to stop playing.” Link nudged him in the shin with his toe.

“I should go to bed,” Rhett muttered.

Link tilted his head. “My bed?” His heart sank a little when Rhett shook his head no. “Why not?”

Rhett’s face worked through a number of expressions. He put his head in his hands. “I feel weird about this, Link. Whatever’s happening with me and you. Jessie still won’t talk to me. And now Gregg probably thinks we’re a couple. Also you should put a shirt on.”

Link looked down at himself. “What, a man can’t sit shirtless in his own room?” he said, arms spread in mock innocence. “I’m just trying to be... comfortable.”

“Well, you’re makin’ me _un_ comfortable,” Rhett said. He reached for his guitar and got to his feet.

“If you’re so uncomfortable, “ Link began slyly, “then why did you kiss me?” Rhett was silent. “Why were you so ready to rip all my clothes off–”

He’d hit on a weak point without realizing it. Rhett slammed his free hand against the wall, striking loudly enough to make Link flinch.

“Shut up!”

“Why are you getting mad?” Link demanded. “Rhett, we gotta talk about this.”

Rhett shook his head. For the first time, Link noticed the dark circles under his eyes, the tightness of his mouth.

“I miss Jessie,” he said wearily.

The words had barely left his mouth before Link was on his feet as well, both arms encircling his friend’s torso in a tight embrace. For once, he figured a kiss wouldn’t be appropriate.

“Um...” Rhett held himself stiffly. “What are you doing.”

Link squeezed harder, pressing his face against his friend’s t-shirt. “You look sad,” he said, voice muffled. Rhett’s body was always warm and he appreciated that now, especially since he wasn’t wearing a shirt himself. “What was that you told me before? That we’d figure this out?”

“Yeah.”

“How ‘bout this.” Link finally released him, retreating to the relative warmth of his own bed. He patted the space beside him, but Rhett gave another quick shake of his head. Choosing to ignore this, he continued. “It’s almost Valentine’s Day. You should do something special for Jessie. Write her a song or something. I’m doing something for Christy.”

“Maybe.” Rhett’s face brightened a little. “What are you doing for Christy?”

Link grinned. “You’ll see.”

~

He had bought six bags full of dollar store sticky notes, but he couldn’t shake the nagging thought that he didn’t have enough.

“You were serious about this!” Gregg crowed as he descended the stairs that evening to find Link sitting on the floor in front of the TV, patiently cutting handfuls of the bright paper into heart shapes that he organized by color. “How much did all of these cost?”

“Too much,” Link said shortly. “Don’t touch any of those, man!”

“Sorry.” Gregg quickly withdrew the offending hand. “Well, that’s pretty cool, Link. I’m sure Christy’s gonna _love_ wakin’ up to find these all over her car.” Link rolled his eyes at Gregg’s teasing. He knew that Link and Christy were on the rocks, but he hadn’t been clued in as to _why._ “Listen though, if you get caught on campus, don’t run. I heard that security has tasers.”

“Psh.” Link wrinkled his nose to stave off a sudden itch. “No they don’t.”

Gregg shrugged. “That’s what I heard from Chris.”

“Chris doesn’t know what he’s talkin’ about.”

Again, Gregg lifted his shoulders, said, “That’s what I heard,” and continued on to the kitchen. Link got back to work.

Christy had been distant lately. She insisted that she didn’t want to break off the engagement, that she wanted everything to proceed as planned, but she had also told Link that she needed time alone to think over what he’d told her about his thoughts for Rhett. He understood this of course, but Valentine’s Day was approaching and he had staunchly resolved to do Something Romantic for her.

He didn’t have the money to pay for a fancy restaurant this year, but one day in class, his eyes had fallen on a stack of Post-It notes on the professor’s desk and an idea began to form.

Rhett came downstairs to sit with him a little while later. He offered to help, but Link shook his head. For some reason, it didn’t seem like it would be half as romantic if Rhett did any of the work. He snipped out heart shapes for a few hours, stopping only when Rhett brought him some pizza he’d ordered. When he was finally finished, it was already very late.

Neither of them spoke on the short drive to Meredith College, choosing instead to let the radio fill the silence with familiar music. Rhett dropped him off down the road from the school.

“Two hours,” he said as Link opened the truck door. “You better be back here in two hours or I’m getting Gregg and we’re gonna bust right into campus security to break you out.”

Link waved dismissively. “I got this!”

Rhett caught his hand. Link barely had time to yelp before Rhett pulled him back and planted a kiss on his lips. Just as his brain was registering the contact, it was over.

“Be careful, man,” he said.

“I’ll be fine,” Link said, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat. “I’ll be fine.” He and Rhett had barely touched each other since that night when they’d shared his bed, so tentative they were in this new area of their relationship. He couldn’t keep a foolish grin from spreading across his face.

“Two hours!” With a similar expression on his own face, Rhett pulled off in a burst of exhaust and squealing tires, leaving Link alone.

He strode down the road with his backpack full of sticky notes in tow. The buildings of Christy’s campus were just ahead, but they weren’t his target for tonight. He crept onto the student parking lot instead, feet crunching on gravel with each step.

His heart was pounding every time ducked to avoid the light of students’ passing cars. He wasn’t _too_ concerned about being caught; at most, he’d get a slap on the wrist and a fine for being on-campus after hours.

Well, maybe he was concerned about the fine. He couldn’t exactly afford such a thing at the moment.

Her little Accord was easier to find than he’d thought. She was parked at the far end of the student parking lot, right at the end of a row. Seeing the little car almost made him smile. He entertained a passing thought of trying to get into her dorm room, but quickly dismissed the idea. Security was much tighter around the dorms, and he didn’t want to risk getting _her_ in trouble too.

At her car, he tore open each packet of sticky notes and lined them up neatly on the front bumper. He hoped he had enough to cover the entire car, but if not he decided to cover the sides at least. It was calming in a way, the repetitive movements, the silence around him, the fact that he was doing something instead of sitting at home trying to force himself to do schoolwork. At one point, he dropped to the ground and almost squeezed beneath Christy’s car to hide from a passing security car, but otherwise he was uninterrupted.

When he was done, he was shivering in the cold, but he was happy with his work. Christy’s car looked almost like a parade float with heart-shaped sticky notes fluttering in the breeze. He’d arranged the notes on her car by color, starting with the pinks and reds in honor of Valentine’s Day. He didn’t have enough for the roof or the wheels, but covering the doors, trunk, and hood seemed good enough.

But the whole ensemble was missing something. He fumbled in his pocket for the pen he always carried. On the sticky note over the driver’s side door handle, he drew a heart and shakily wrote, _I’m stuck on you._

~

The ringing phone barely penetrated the haze of Link’s sleep early next morning. He didn’t even move until Gregg yelled that the call was for him. With a start, he remembered the previous night’s shenanigans.

Yawning, he shambled downstairs to the phone, muttering his thanks to Gregg as he took the phone. “Hello?”

“Aww, Link!” Christy’s voice was a sweet jolt of cold water to his sleep-fuddled mind. His heart beat a little faster at the thought of her standing at the phone, twining the cord around one finger as she talked. “What’s all that on my car?”

He grinned sheepishly. “Did you like it?”

“I mean, I was really surprised!” She sounded both flustered and pleased. “That was real sweet of you, but... that’s a lot of Post-Its you got there.”

“Did you see the one on the door handle?” he asked hopefully. “Our song.”

“Yes.” Hearing the smile in her voice made his own grin even bigger. “I guess I’m stuck on you, too.”

He laughed at that. “Is it okay if I come over in a bit? Help you get ‘em all off your car? Unless you wanna leave them on and drive around and let the wind take care of it.”

There was a pause. Link found himself biting his lip, wondering if he’d asked for too much.

“Sure,” she said finally, adding with mock severity, “Come over and get these dang things off my car, Neal. Then maybe we can talk for a bit?”

“Yeah!” He felt his heart lift for the first time in weeks. “I’d like that.”

~

Rhett met Jessie in the backyard of her parents’ house, as she was still too angry at him to let him inside. She was sitting in one of the chairs on the patio, a book in hand. At the sound of his footsteps crunching in the grass, she looked up but said nothing.

Rhett sat in the chair beside her but not too close. He tried to sit as far as her as a friend would — close enough for talk but not close enough to touch. He figured that physical contact was the last thing on her mind.

“You cold?” he asked. “The temperature’s just—”

“You brought your guitar,” she said.

“Yeah.” He folded his hands, twiddled his thumbs, rubbed his sweating palms against his legs. “I-I wrote you a song.”

Her hands went still for a moment. “What kind of song?”

He shrugged. “Just about how much you mean to me. How I don’t wanna lose you.”

Jessie laughed. “And you think I wanna hear that? Think I’m gonna come runnin’ back to you because you played me something sweet?”

“No.” Rhett sighed. “Look, Jessie, I-I love you, okay? I’ve told you that before, and it hasn’t changed at all. Yeah, there’s Link, but I love _you_ and I want to marry _you_.”

“But Link’s always been there, hasn’t he?”

“Well yeah, since first grade, but I never thought about _marrying_ him...”

Jessie turned to face him suddenly. “What would you do if I died tomorrow, Rhett?”

Just imagining it was terrible. Being apart from her for the past several weeks had been difficult enough. Thinking about life without her was like peering into a bottomless pit and it was enough to bring a lump to his throat.

“I’d fall apart,” he said.

“What would you do if Link died tomorrow?”

He considered this, feeling that same terror and emptiness at the thought. “Same thing.”

“Do you love him more than me?”

He thought about this for a moment. “No, not more. Different.”

She scoffed. “What does that mean, _different?”_

“I don’t know!” he burst out, making her flinch. He sighed. “I don’t know,” he repeated softly. “When I look at him, I see the time I’ve spent with him. All the things we’ve done together and all the things we promised to do together in the future. When I look at you, I see all the time I _want_ to spend with you.”

His voice almost broke at the end. His eyes were burning now, and not just from the cold. He wiped a hand across his face and took some deep breaths. He wanted to cry and beg and take her in his arms and show her just how much he cared for her. But he wouldn’t do it, he _wouldn’t_. He knew that wouldn’t sway her. But the silence between them made him feel terrible.

“I’m goin’ home,” he said finally as he got to his feet. “I’m sorry I shouted at you.”

“Wait.”

She was looking up at him fiercely.

“Did you mean that?” she demanded. “About what you see when you look at me?”

“Yes.”

She folded her hands in her lap then. “Sit down.”

“Why?”

When Jessie smiled, it was as if the heavens had burst into singing. “I want to hear your song.”

He let a few tears fall that day while they talked. Later, after convincing her to let him sing the song to her with her family present, he cried again. He knew he must seem foolish, his voice wavering like a child’s when he sang, but he didn’t care. He was head-over-heels in love with two people, and he was overjoyed that both of them loved him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I broke one of my personal rules by squeezing two POVs in this chapter, but I hope it didn't come across as too jarring?


	5. Chapter 5

Link’s hands were shaking so much that tying his bowtie was an almost impossible task. He finally gave up, letting the dark fabric hang around his neck, and shut his eyes. Focusing on taking slow breaths through his nose seemed to help.

He was wearing an extravagantly expensive rented tux and black shoes polished to an almost-mirror sheen. His hair had been trimmed and slicked down. He’d nicked himself on the chin while shaving that morning, but thankfully the scratch was barely noticeable. With a sigh, he tried to tie his bowtie again.

In the days leading up to this moment, he had been a ball of nervous energy, rushing around town to help with the preparations, doing whatever Christy needed him to get done. Now, he didn’t want to move from his spot before the mirror.

After today, he would be a married man.

The thought made his stomach lurch.

“Hey.” He felt Rhett’s warm presence beside him. “You all right?”

He took some more deep breaths, nodding slowly. Behind them, there came the tail-end of a joke Tim was telling, and laughter from the other groomsmen.

“You need help?” Rhett asked.

Again he nodded, turning and lifting his head as Rhett deftly twined the bowtie around his neck. His best friend was dressed in a similar tux, his face clean-shaven.

“You’re gon’ be okay,” Rhett said softly.

“I-I just don’t wanna mess this up,” he stammered.  _ This _ meant everything— the wedding, the honeymoon, the years of marriage ahead. It meant his relationship with Rhett as well, the times they spent together and with other friends, the kisses and brief encounters they sometimes shared now that both Jessie and Christy approved. It had taken so long for them to get to this point. There had been long talks between the four of them, as well as arguments between him and Christy where they both questioned their relationship. But now that life had settled down, he was terrified that he might do something to ruin it all.

“Well, you’re probably gonna mess up a lot,” Rhett told him matter-of factly, “but that’s okay.” His larger fingers were slow to finish with the bowtie, but they were far steadier than Link’s own. “You won’t remember much about this day anyway, except that you married the girl of your dreams. And she probably won’t remember much except that she got you, the best-lookin’ jerk alive.”

Link giggled at that. Or he thought he did. The sounds coming from him almost sounded like sobbing.

“Hey... you ain’t  _ crying _ are you?”

Link lowered his forehead to Rhett’s shoulder. Rhett’s arms were around him in a moment.

“You’re gon’ be okay, man,” Rhett said again.

~

The honeymoon and the first few weeks of married life all passed in a whirlwind. Somehow Link found himself waking up for work at seven AM every morning, giving Christy—his  _ wife _ —a quick peck on the cheek before leaving for work, and coming home to a hot meal that was always something other than cereal or peanut butter. It was incredible. At work, he often caught himself staring at his wedding band, contemplating what  _ forever _ meant.

“What’s it like bein’ married, Link?”

His friends asked the question often over the next few months, and his answer was different each time. When he and Christy were in the midst of an argument, he told others that marriage was tough (but worth it, of course). When they held hands on long walks and whispered to each other, marriage was warm and comforting. And later, after a string of nights full of passion, marriage was...  _ cool. _

Rhett and Gregg were especially curious since they were both getting married within the next year. Link told them both some general positives and negatives, but there were still some things that he only told Rhett.

“We fight a lot,” he said one afternoon. “About stupid stuff.” The two of them were at Rhett’s apartment, in his bedroom, taking a break from working on the song they were going to sing at Gregg’s wedding. It had rained earlier that day, but now the setting sun was shining in all of its crimson glory. Link was glad they had a chance to spend some time together. They hadn’t seen much of each other since the wedding, and he’d been missing the presence of his best friend.

“What do you fight about?” Rhett was sitting on the bed, absently strumming his way through the circle of fifths on his guitar. Link’s eyes were drawn to his fingers moving deftly over the strings, and for a fleeting moment, he wondered how easily he could get those hands on his waist.

“Last week,” he stammered, quickly averting his gaze after a pause that had probably gone on for too long. “We both came home from work and I was hungry, so I asked her why dinner was taking so long, and she  _ exploded.” _

“What? Really?”

“She chucked a shoe at me.” The image of his wife, jaw clenched in a grimace as she threw it at him, was still uncomfortably fresh in his mind. “I think she was having a bad day.”

Rhett snorted. “You think?”

“Her shoe left a dent in the wall!”

At that, Rhett burst out laughing. “Man... you gotta do better than that. Ask her if you can help or something.”

Link rolled his eyes. “Well, I know that  _ now.” _

“You made it up to her, though, right?”

_ Oh yeah. _ He nodded, his face suddenly warming at the thought.

“Treated her  _ real _ good, huh.”

Link pulled off one sneaker and waved it menacingly. “Don’t make me throw this at  _ you _ , now.”

Rhett only chuckled and strummed away. Outside, the sun’s brilliant red-yellow hues intensified. The light streaming in through the window seemed to set Rhett afire. Something deep within stirred to life as Link watched him play, his gaze tracing his body from shoulder to the curve of his wrist, His fingers suddenly went still between chord changes, music quickly giving way to silence. Link looked up in time to see Rhett’s tongue nervously dart out.

“I was wondering.” He cleared his throat. “Can you stay here tonight?”

“Yes,” Link said, the word leaving his mouth before he’d even considered the implications that came with it. Then, in a vain attempt to rein in his eager thoughts, he shrugged. “I-I mean, if you don’t mind, of course. Christy doesn’t mind, and—”

Rhett quickly set his guitar aside and gestured for Link to join him on the bed.

They kissed, Rhett’s warm hands coming up to cup the sides of Link’s face as their lips met. The sudden action sent a delicious shudder through Link’s body. His heart was throbbing away, his hands tracing territory that he had not touched in months. Rhett’s sun-bleached hair, his sloping shoulders, the tension of his body as he guided Link to lay on his back. It was all beautiful and perfect and Link wanted even more.

“What do you want me to do?” Rhett whispered. His face was so close that Link could see the fading sunlight reflected in his eyes.

“Anything,” Link gasped. “Everything. I...” He clutched at the front of Rhett’s shirt, only now realizing the intensity of the desperation fizzing in his veins. “Rhett, it’s been so long...”

The face above his disappeared from view, quickly followed by a pair of lips and a wet warmth that blazed a trail across his throat to his collarbone. He exhaled a moan, eyes drifting closed as Rhett’s hands ventured downward.

“No,” he whispered when he felt tugging at his jeans. “Not yet. S-slower.” He was half-afraid that he might come too soon if Rhett undressed him right then.

Again, Rhett asked what he wanted. Link lifted himself from the bed long enough to pull his shirt over his head before lying back on the pillow again. It had almost been embarrassing when he’d first learned how much he enjoyed having his chest played with, but he didn’t care anymore. Rhett wasn’t as gentle as Christy—there were a few times when Link hissed for him to slow down or move more gently—but there was a strength behind his movements that Link loved. A reminder that he could fully relax from the anxieties of life when Rhett’s hands were on him.

When Rhett finally delved into his jeans, he was panting. They’d only gone this far a few times, but he was ready. Long fingers traced his length, cupped his balls, and circled teasingly around his entrance beneath. Link opened his mouth in a needy groan that was cut off as Rhett’s mouth was pressed against his again. He finally began to stroke.

Link tried to hold out for as long as he could, but the sensations of Rhett’s hands on him was too much to withstand. It was only a little while before he fell apart, only a little while before his hips lifted from the mattress and with a small cry, he came.

Through the haze of euphoria, he felt Rhett clean him off with a towel without Link realizing he’d gone to get one. (He appreciated this; he’d said before that he hated leaving a mess.) Then Rhett’s bare torso was against his—again, without Link realizing he’d removed his shirt—and the world was still and very quiet.

The sun had set, plunging the room in near-darkness. Link fixed his gaze on the ceiling as his breathing settled. Moments like these he wished he could preserve forever. He took in every detail he could, from the shadows crossing the wall from the headlights of a passing car outside to Rhett’s hand lazily tracing the curve of his ribcage.

_ Perfect. _

“Your turn,” he murmured after a moment, nudging Rhett with a hand.

Obediently, his friend rolled over onto his back. Link gave the bulge in his jeans a squeeze, loving how Rhett’s teeth showed in response.

“I get to choose,” he said. It wasn’t a question, but Rhett nodded anyway. “Everything off.”

Pants and underwear were quickly discarded from them both. They traded kisses again before Link moved down his body, trailing with a hand as he went.

“Scoot down some,” he told Rhett, who moved until his knees were bent over the edge of the bed.

Link knelt on the floor beside him, absently kneading the flesh of his thighs with both hands. He took a moment to appreciate the view before him. It was strange to think that they had seen each other naked multiple times growing up, both of them fighting down the desire to really  _ look _ at his friend. He was glad that he didn’t need to avert his gaze anymore. Rhett’s reddened face went through a lovely series of expressions as Link ran a thumb along his shaft. It was enough to make Link’s spent cock tingle with the beginnings of another arousal.

“You look real good, Rhett,” he whispered. He only let the words sink in for a moment before lowering his head and closing his lips around the tip of his cock.

The flinch and yelp he got in response was all he could have ever hoped for. Rhett’s head briefly came into view.

“What are you doing?”

The dazed surprise on his face made it impossible for Link to hide his smile. “What, you don’t like it?”

“N-no.” Rhett let his head fall back. “That’s... real good.” One hand gestured weakly. "Do it again? Please?”

Link got back to work. Rhett’s taste and musk flooded his senses, deep and salty and wonderful. Rhett couldn’t seem to keep still, his body writhing with every movement until Link held his hips down in a bruisingly tight grip. His whispered encouragements turned to wordless, whimpered pleas for more as Link quickened his pace. 

“I’m...” Rhett’s voice was weak, his fingers tightly gripping the sheets. “L...ink, I’m...”

Link released his cock and stroked it firmly once, twice, three times. Rhett’s body tensed and he cried out as he spilled over Link’s fingers.

They were still for only a moment before Link was up again, cleaning them both off. When he climbed back into the bed, Rhett pulled him close and peppered his face with small kisses.

“That was freaking incredible,” he whispered, the feathery touch of his breath against Link’s ear enough to make a thrill run up his spine.

Except for the streetlights outside, the room was completely dark. Another car swept past, disturbing the shadows, and with it came a sudden, worrisome thought that jolted Link out of his peaceful drift into sleep.

“Hey Rhett?”

“Mm.”

“How’s this gonna work once we’re both married?”

They were both quiet for a moment, before the bed shook as Rhett turned back to face him.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said simply. “Just like we’ve been doing. Figuring things out as we go along.”

He was right. Of  _ course _ Rhett was right. For once, his easy self-assurance made Link feel better. “Yeah.”

“We’ll be all right, bo,” Rhett whispered. He leaned in, gently pressing his lips to Link’s forehead. “Just sleep for a bit, okay?”

He might have said something else, but Link was already drifting away.


	6. Chapter 6

Rhett wasn’t sure what possessed him to destroy the meager progress he’d made with his beard with the hair clippers that morning, but he had done it. Now he stood in his tux before the mirror in the repurposed church office, sheepishly rubbing his shorn head.

Link was the first of the groomsmen to arrive.

“What the heck did you do to your hair, Rhett?”

“Cut it,” Rhett said unnecessarily.

Link’s eyes flicked across his face, scrutinizing the haircut. He raised a tentative hand and trailed his fingers over Rhett’s scalp, leaving a glorious tingling in its wake.

“You look ridiculous,” he said, one corner of his mouth curling upwards. “Come here.”

His hands went to Rhett’s shoulders, easing the taller man down for a kiss, but he pulled back with a disapproving noise before Rhett’s hands could touch him.

“Your face feels so weird without hair, man!”

“Yeah.” Rhett was already regretting his decision, but it was too late now.

Link’s hands on his shoulders squeezed gently, guiding Rhett to move with him.

“What’re you doing?” Rhett murmured.

“Makin’ sure you don’t forget how to dance.” Link looked up at him, his eyes shining. “I should’ve been practicing with you this whole time. Gotta make sure you don’t trip over your own feet when you start dancing with her.” His grin broadened. “How does it feel to have two people wantin’ to kiss you silly even after you decide to destroy your beard?”

Rhett felt his ears heat up at that, but he said nothing. They began a shuffling slow dance, picking their way around the bookshelves and desks. Link moved more gracefully than Rhett had ever seen him, his feet suddenly quick and light.

“When did you learn how to dance, man?” Link’s hand was firm against Rhett’s side as he guided them both. Their movements made him feel slightly giddy, a sensation compounded by the nervousness he already felt at the wedding ceremony being just a few hours away.

“Didn’t I tell you? Christy and I have been taking lessons after one of her friends . There’s a swing dancing – party, I guess you call it? – in Raleigh. We go sometimes and she loves it. You n’ Jessie should come along sometime. They give lessons.”

Rhett felt mildly indignant. “You never told me about this!”

Link swept him deftly around a chair, his face beaming innocently. “You never asked.” He stopped their dance to stand on his toes and kiss Rhett briefly on the lips. “I’m excited for you, man.” His voice was gentle and sincere, enough to set Rhett’s stomach even more aflutter as he fumbled for words. Returning Link’s smile was easy enough, though.

“Thanks, Link.”

~

Link and Christy were going to be parents and Rhett could hardly believe it. Every time he tried to imagine Link holding a small child, posing brightly for pictures in the backyard or on the swing, all he saw was the college kid who posed smugly for the camera and was perfectly content with living on nothing but cereal and peanut butter.

The news didn’t really sink in until he saw them together later that week. Jessie had been wanting to go with the Neals to their swing dancing event for weeks, and Rhett finally agreed even though his back had been acting up lately.

The event was almost too lively for his tastes. A live band shrilled its way through a series of big band tunes at one end of the auditorium, couples twirling on the dance floor before them in bright colors. Rhett tried a dance or two before retreating to the group of tables at the far end of the room. Christy and Jessie joined him shortly after, while Link went to get drinks.

“He is  _ so _ excited,” Christy told them. “My mom gave us that pregnancy book a few days ago,  _ What to Expect When You're Expecting _ ? You know, the really popular one.” Jessie nodded knowingly. “Well, he’s practically memorized the whole thing already.”

Rhett laughed. “I believe it.”

Link returned with four drinks balanced in his hands in a surprising show of grace, which he ruined by almost spilling them onto the table as he tried to distribute them to the others. He seemed restless, but not in a bad way. More like a kid waiting to open his presents on Christmas day, Rhett thought. He only stayed seated for a moment, springing up as soon as the next song was announced.

“M’lady, may I have this dance?” Link presented his hand to Christy with a flourish, but she shook her head with a tired smile. He presented a hand to Rhett, who only laughed.

“My back’s killing me, man.”

Link turned to Jessie next, who cheerfully accepted. He led her onto the dance floor, where they quickly broke into a spirited dance.

“He really can move,” Rhett murmured.

Christy grinned at him. “You should have him show you some of his more special moves. In private, of course.”

Just the thought of being alone with Link in the dark, that slim body twisting and writhing just for him, was enough to make Rhett’s hands more sweaty than usual. It had been a while since the last time they’d been together. “I’ll, um, I’ll keep that in mind.”

On the dance floor, Jessie let out a delighted shriek as Link dipped and spun her around with the music.

“Watch it!” Rhett called. Link flashed him a bright smile before swinging Jessie away again. They really were something to watch, his wife and his best friend twirling around and around, both of them slim and tanned and smiling so beautifully.

“How’s your back?” Christy asked.

“Hurts to walk,” he said. “How’s your... being pregnant?”

Christy laughed, a hand going to her stomach. “Tiring,” she said, “but I’m excited, too.” Her attention shifted back to the dancefloor, where Link and Jessie were applauding the band along with the rest of the couples there. “You know,” she said beneath the sound of the band launching into another high-spirited tune, “I’m really glad the four of us can do things like this.” She hesitated. “The first time he told me the way he felt for you, I got really scared.”

Rhett leaned towards her across the table, frowning. “What do you mean?”

She began sheepishly twisting a lock of blond hair around her finger. “I was scared he was going to change his mind about me!” she said with a laugh. “I know Jessie felt the same.”

“That’s news to me.” Rhett raised an eyebrow. “She broke up with me when I told her.”

“Because she was scared,” Christy said firmly. “All of us were.”

“I wasn’t,” Rhett said quickly.

She laughed, shaking her head slowly. “Don’t you lie to me now, McLaughlin.”

He grinned back at her, feeling suddenly shy at the affection shining in her eyes. 

Link was on fire that night, dancing with Jessie whenever she asked, flitting around Rhett and teasing him good-naturedly, running to get water for Christy when she got tired. He danced once with his wife, a slow interlude where they swayed together slowly he said something to make her laugh. From where he sat with his arm around his own wife, Rhett felt a rush of affection for them all — Jessie, Link, Christy — and he found himself tearing up a little.

As they left for the night, Link stood on his toes and planted a kiss on Rhett’s cheek, right there in the parking lot.

The answering laughter from their wives made Rhett’s face hot. “What are you–”

Link only smiled, his expression all teeth. “I’ll see you later, man.” He swept away with his wife on his arm, Christy fluttering her fingers back at them in farewell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got the awesome idea for the dancing scene from [this post.](http://rhettmclovely.tumblr.com/post/151490621969/no-offense-but-link-and-jessie-tearing-it-up-on) :D


	7. Chapter 7

Bearing flowers with a placard reading “IT’S A GIRL,” Rhett and Jessie paused outside the open door of Christy’s hospital room. The bed was hidden from them by the partially drawn curtain.

Jessie squeezed his hand. “You ready?”

“I’m nervous,” Rhett felt almost surprised at the admission.

Jessie knocked gently on the door.

“Come in,” came Link’s voice from inside.

Christy was sound asleep. Link was in one of the chairs by her bed, curled up around his newly arrived daughter. His eyes were puffy from lack of sleep, but he smiled wanly at them. There was something between excitement and terror in his eyes.

“We have a child,” he said, his voice wavering as Rhett and Jessie came to sit on either side of him. Rhett understood that he meant all four of them; they were all parents now, responsible for this tiny human who had just come into the world. The knowledge was slightly unnerving, as he didn’t feel prepared at all for this, but the sight of Link cradling his Lily, his expression both dazed and happy, was something Rhett would not have traded for anything.

She was fast asleep, fists bunched up on either side of her little face. Link brushed a finger across one smooth cheek. Rhett was mesmerized by how perfect and still she was despite the cacophony surrounding her arrival.

“She’s so small,” Link was saying. “I didn’t think she’d be so small.” He laughed softly. “I’m almost scared to walk and carry her at the same time. Don’t wanna drop her.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Jessie said confidently. “Are you excited?”

“Yeah.” He let out another quiet chuckle. “Mostly scared, though.”

Lily stirred a little, her face wrinkling in mild distress before settling down again. Link kissed her forehead gently.

“It’s okay, baby,” he whispered.

“Can I hold her?” Rhett asked.

There was a flicker of something in Link’s eyes, a new level of protectiveness and concern Rhett had never seen before.

“You have to be careful,” he began.

“I’m not gonna drop her, man!” Rhett whispered, his voice quietly indignant.

“All right, all right.” Link handed his daughter over carefully, both he and Jessie reminding Rhett how to hold her properly.

“See?” he said when he was finally settled. He was feeling inordinately pleased with himself. “It ain’t that hard.”

Link rolled his eyes, and it was all Rhett could do to keep from chuckling out loud.

~

In addition to Link’s and Christy’s parents, Rhett and Jessie became near-permanent fixtures in his home in the next few weeks. They brought food, watched Lily so her parents could have a moment’s rest, and kept the house clean when even Link was too worn out to do it.

Rhett was fascinated by the change that came over Link. His best friend talked about how his daughter was growing, how he and Christy were adjusting to being parents, how much bigger Lily was growing every day. He seemed older and more knowledgeable somehow. He was a  _ father _ .

“It’s weird to think about,” he told Rhett one day when the two of them met at Bojangles for a quick lunch break. “She needs us  _ completely. _ It’s scary but I love it.” He smiled, but for some reason the expression didn’t reach his eyes.

“Hey.” Rhett reached across the table and touched his hand. “What’s wrong?”

“I...” Link let out an embarrassed laugh. “I really,  _ really _ don’t like being an engineer, man.”

“Me neither,” Rhett admitted.

He shared the story of the time he made a fool of himself, forgetting to wear a hard hat while on a construction site earlier that month. It felt good to make Link laugh.

“By the way, you look really good,” he added, polishing off the rest of his fries. “All clean-cut.” He nudged Link’s foot beneath the table. “Got your face shaved and your hair brushed and your khakis and pink polo shirt on… nice.”

“Yeah?” Link ran a hand sheepishly through his hair, disturbing his carefully brushed locks.

“Nah.” Rhett smirked. “You look like you just got some bad news.”

“You got that right.” Link sighed, glanced at his watch. “I should head back soon. Got a  _ long _ afternoon ahead.”

Rhett felt his heart sink. “Me too, I guess.”

As they left Bojangles, Rhett put an arm across his shoulders and pressed a quick kiss to the top of his head. Usually, Link pushed him away when they got “too close” in public, but this time he only squeezed Rhett back and whispered, “Thanks.”

“You want to hang out later?” Rhett asked hopefully. “It’s, uh, it’s been a while, if you know what I mean.”

It took Link a few moments, but a smile finally spread across his face. “Heck yeah.”

~

Jessie came into the bedroom that evening as he was hastily changing from his work clothes into more casual clothes, excited to be spending the night with Link. She seemed oddly hesitant, standing in the doorway and watching as he pulled on a t-shirt.

“Would you mind if Christy comes over while you’re out?” she asked. She was braiding her dark hair over one shoulder in an unusually shy gesture.

He was a little puzzled. “Why would I mind? She’s been here a million times.”

“Maybe,” his wife said slowly, “maybe she and I want to go on a little date of our own.”

Rhett could almost feel his brain short-circuit. “What.”

Jessie was blushing now. “You’re not the only one in love with your best friend, Rhett.”

Rhett had been blindsided by unexpected news before, of course, but it was rare for anything leave him speechless. He gaped at his wife and made a few attempts at forming a coherent sentence, failing miserably each time.

“We’ve been talking a little more than usual lately,” she explained. “Since I’ve been helping her with Lily. We thought that tonight maybe we could...” She trailed off, but the images now flitting through Rhett’s head left him reeling.

“M-maybe Link and I could join you,” he suggested, his voice inadvertently cracking.

Jessie grinned mischievously at that. “Oh no sir. You and Link got to get to know each other on your own, you gotta let us do the same thing.”

He had to admit that was fair enough. But as he left the room, he caught her hand in his and pulled her close. He kissed her, feeling a thrill at how readily her lips moved against his. She ran her fingers through his hair when he stopped to catch his breath, her gaze piercing. 

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too.” She squeezed his hand. “Now go have fun.”


	8. Chapter 8

Back in the hospital again, and it was Link and Christy’s turn to visit Rhett and Jessie. They entered the hospital room to find Rhett pacing with a tiny bundle in a blue cap in his arms as he talked to his wife. He and Jessie both looked the way Link imagined he and Christy had when Lily was born—exhausted and slightly shocked but still happy.

“Look at my boy,” Rhett said proudly, turning so they could see the sleeping baby in his arms. “Locke McLaughlin.”

To everyone’s annoyance, he wouldn’t let anyone else hold Locke until Jessie told him to quit being selfish. Even then, he hovered over his visitors—Link especially—and fussed to make sure they were holding his son properly.

That same possessiveness carried on for weeks. Link came to visit one day to find Jessie reading a book in the living room and Rhett nowhere in sight.

“He’s trying to get Locke down for a nap,” she said before Link could ask.

“How’s he doing?” Link asked. He meant Locke, but Jessie had other thoughts in mind.

“He’s been _intense,_ ” she said with a slight headshake. “He wants to carry Locke _everywhere._ I’m lucky if I get to feed him without Rhett asking if he can get either of us anything.”

Link chuckled. “That’s not so bad, right?”

Jessie sighed. “No. It’s been wonderful actually. But he’s been getting underfoot.” She frowned. “He’s spending the night with you tonight, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” Link said quickly. He felt his face quickly growing hot, even though this was an arrangement they had kept for a while now. “Thank you,” he added. “For letting me take your husband.”

Jessie smiled back at him, but there was something sharp hidden beneath her innocent expression. “Thank you for letting me take your wife.”

~

Rhett was already a light sleeper, so when Locke’s plaintive cry echoed through the house at one AM, he had little trouble getting out of bed and padding barefoot down the hall to his son’s bedroom. Locke was a _loud_ crier. He had a pair of lungs fit to put a punk rocker to shame, or so Mama Di had said on her first visit to see her new grandson. Rhett shambled into his son’s room, wincing at his shrill cry, and picked him up from his crib.

“It’s okay, buddy,” he crooned. “Ain’t nothing gonna happen to ya. I’m right here.”

He paced the length of the house, rocking his son gently in his arms. He talked to Locke, telling him about plans he’d made for the future.

“When you’re old enough, we’re gonna play basketball together,” he said. “I’m gon’ show you all my best moves. You’ll be the best point guard in Harnett County.”

Locke only squinted up at him, tiny fists grabbing for Rhett’s chin.

“Hey, that’s my beard there!” Rhett chuckled. “You won’t get your own for a long time.”

He daydreamed a little then, trying to imagine what it would be like to have an older child. It was a strange concept, stranger still since he had trouble imagining anyone calling him “dad.” There were other things to consider, too. Would Locke be as tall as his father? Would he be a good kid or a troublemaker?

Rhett paced the house until he began feeling drowsy. Locke’s eyelids were drooping, but when Rhett tried to lay him down in his crib, he immediately started screaming again and didn’t stop until his father was holding him again.

“You really don’t like being alone, do you?” he murmured, kissing him gently on the forehead. “Well, me neither, I guess.”

Some nights, he dozed off while sprawled on the couch with Locke curled up on his chest. He usually woke up in the morning at the sound of Jessie turning the shower on upstairs. A few times, she woke him gently with a kiss on the forehead and reminded him that both he and Locke would be more comfortable in their own beds.

Gradually, Locke began sleeping through the night, but the same could not be said for Rhett. He was restless for different reasons now.

Work was becoming something he dreaded. The days were painfully slow, and the people were nice to talk to but wholly unimaginative, in Rhett’s opinion. He stopped pretending to read the long-winded manuals on his desk. He spent his time dreaming up plans, ways that he and Link could finally make good on their blood oath to “do something big together.”

He told Link about this one early Saturday morning while the two of them were out hiking. The day was warm, vestiges of summer’s humidity still refusing to give way to fall. The trip had been Link’s idea, since they hadn’t had much time to spend together lately, but for some reason he was very quiet today.

When Rhett mentioned that he was thinking of quitting his job, Link’s brow furrowed behind his sunglasses

“We can’t just _quit,_ man,” he said.

“Jessie and I have been saving whatever we can.” Rhett swiped a wayward bough aside with the stick he carried. “We have enough for several months at least.”

“What would you do when the money ran out? We’ve barely made anything from writing music.”

Rhett shrugged. “We’ve never really pushed ourselves to really _write_ though, have we?”

Link only waved his hand in a gesture that Rhett knew meant _be quiet_.

The trail wound through the woods, always leading them up, up, up. The ground finally leveled out at a lookout point at the top, where they could see the hills and valleys spread out before them like a verdant blanket. Link sat on the bench near the railing at the edge, rummaging through his backpack. He came up with two water bottles and handed one to Rhett.

It was peaceful up here, Rhett thought. The beautiful view and quiet bird songs in the trees were calming to his restless mind. Inspiring, even. Rhett wished he’d thought to bring his guitar along.

“Christy’s pregnant,” Link said. “We just found out last week.”

The news hit Rhett like a gale force wind. He inhaled to speak and almost choked on his water. “R-really?” he exclaimed when he could speak again. “That’s great, man!” He nudged Link when his friend’s ears began reddening. “You don’t waste any time, do ya?” He elbowed Link harder. “Do ya?”

“Oh stop it.” Link shoved him, but he was grinning now. “Lily’s already up and walking and tryna tell us what to do. Girl’s practically a teenager already. Christy wanted another baby. And,” he added sheepishly, “so did I.”

Rhett laughed out loud at that. “Well congrats, man. I’m happy for you.” He scooted closer and put an arm around Link’s shoulders. “I’m happy for you,” he repeated softly.

Slowly, Link lowered his head to Rhett’s shoulder. “See, that’s part of why I don’t think quitting our jobs is a good idea. Not responsible to just up and leave when you got offspring depending on you to feed them.”

Rhett was irritated at that. “That’s why we’ve been saving money, man! I’m not irresponsible.” He rubbed his hand over Link’s shoulder in slow motions. “I know I asked you this already, but are you happy with your job?”

He felt Link’s body jerk with the force of his answering scoff. “Hell no.”

“You think you’d be doing Christy and Lily any favors if you stayed there? You think they’d be happy if they saw you miserable?”

“They already see me miserable,” Link said wearily. “I come home too late to eat dinner with them. Sometimes I gotta work overnight. You know how it is. There are some days Lily’s still asleep when I leave in the morning and already asleep again when I come home at night. There was one week I think I spoke to her like _twice._ That’s ridiculous!” He lifted a shaking hand to his forehead. “And I’ve been getting these _headaches,_ too, like real bad migraines. You’re right. I’m not happy there.”

He was on the verge of changing his mind, so Rhett said what he hoped would tip the scales in his favor.

“What about the oath we made?”

With a sigh, Link lowered his head to his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. After a moment, he tilted his head to meet Rhett’s gaze.

“You really think we should try this,” Link said quietly.

“Heck yeah.”

Link rested his chin on his folded hands and looked out across the landscape before them. Rhett waited, hardly daring to move. He hadn’t realized how nervous he was for Link’s response until now.

“I’ll think about it,” Link said finally. “And I’ll talk to Christy, too.”

Rhett almost felt weak with relief. “That’s all I could ask for, man,” he said. He took another gulp of water. “So, um, you got any names picked out for baby Neal?”

“Well, if it’s a boy, he’s gonna be Charles Lincoln the fourth. If it’s a girl…” Link grinned sheepishly. “I was thinking maybe Ninja.”

Rhett really did choke then, sputtering for air as he laughed harder than he had in weeks. Link pounded him on the back until he calmed down.

“Wow.” Rhett wiped tears from his eyes. “Maaan... I really hope it’s a boy.”

“Why you gotta say that? When we told Lily she was going to have a brother or a sister, she got really excited. She really wants a little sister now. Plus Ninja’s just Nina with a J.”

“Sometimes you really worry me, Link.” Rhett shook his head. “Listen, if you name a girl Ninja – or _anyone_ , for that matter – you’re just asking for her to get teased. It’s like you _want_ her to have a terrible life. Watch.” He thickened his southern drawl and leered at Link. “‘Is that your _real_ name? Is Ninja your _real_ name? Naw c’mon, girl, you can tell me!’”

Eyes rolled in response. “Man, it’s just–”

“Nina with a J. I heard you. And shit is just hit with an S.”

Link burst into a fit of laughter.


	9. Chapter 9

It was easier for Link to adjust after his second child Lincoln was born. He made sure to spend time with Lily so she wouldn’t feel left out, answering all of her questions about how her baby brother came out of her mama’s tummy as honestly as possible. They had both been present at Lincoln’s birth, cutting the umbilical cord together, a moment that had nearly brought him to happy tears.

He loved watching his children grow. Lily was a quick learner, always willing to help her parents out wherever she could. Link came home from work one evening to find her insisting on feeding her little brother his baby food for dinner, and the sight lifted his spirits after yet another long day.

He and Rhett were both increasingly discontent with work. Over the next several months, as spring gave way to summer, the now-frequent times where they wrote music together often devolved into them sharing stories about events that had gone awry that week. Still, even these times made him feel comfort in the fact that he was not experiencing this alone.

There was something special about hearing their voices lifted together, Link thought. He liked singing harmony and had always loved the sound of his own voice weaving around Rhett’s steady melodies. Making music together filled him with excitement that powered him through the long hours of work.

There were other types of excitement of course, flaring to life when the soft pressure of Rhett’s lips closed around his shoulder, when Rhett squirmed and pleaded beneath him, when they lay breathless with bodies intertwined. He was glad for those times, glad that if he wanted to be held, he could nuzzle his way into Rhett’s embrace and stay there all night. Sometimes they talked, Link making a game out of trying to derail Rhett from rambling for too long about his latest obsession. Sometimes he dozed off to the steady beat of Rhett’s heart against his ear.

~

Rhett, Jessie, and Locke came over some time later, on a cloudless day in early summer, perfect weather for spending time outside. The two families had not had a chance to get together for Memorial Day weekend since Rhett’s family had gone to visit relatives in Georgia, so Link had suggested that they come over so their families could spend some time together.

“Hey, you’re wearin’ glasses now?” Rhett demanded as he opened the backyard gate, Jessie and Locke following close behind him.

“Oh yeah.” Link raised a hand to touch his new frames. “Forgot to tell you. They really help with the headaches.”

“That’s g–”

“Daddy!” Locke was pulling insistently on his father’s hand. “Lily and me want you... can you do the giant thing?”

“ _ Please _ ,” Lily added firmly, nudging Locke until he repeated the word.

He and Lily ran up to Rhett, each latching themselves onto one of his shins. Link sat back and laughed as Rhett lumbered around the yard, the kids giggling at his every step.

They took turns at the grill that day, arguing over how long it would take for the chicken to be ready until Christy told them that they were both wrong. By the time everyone had been fed, Lincoln was napping on his mother’s lap, and Locke and Lily were occupied with tossing cornhole beanbags at their targets, Link found Rhett at his side.

“Hey.” Rhett’s arm curled around his waist.

“Hey.” Link let his head rest on Rhett’s shoulder for a moment, soaking in the warmth of Rhett’s presence. “You brought your guitar?”

“Yes sir. It’s in the house.”

“You wanna get it?”

“In a minute.” He felt Rhett’s free hand come up to brush his hair away from his face. “Your hair’s gettin’ long.”

“That’s the way I like it,” Link said. “And Christy likes it, so  _ you’re _ gonna have to like it.”

Rhett chuckled. “All right, man, I don’t mind. It’s not like you haven’t wanted to cut your hair before.”

They watched their children play for a little while longer. Lincoln toddled around on still-unsteady legs, trying to keep up with Locke and Lily, who were now running circles all over the yard. Rhett finally announced he was going to get his guitar, and gestured for Link to follow him inside.

“Gotta tell you something,” Rhett said softly as soon as they were alone in the kitchen.

Link heard something in his voice, something that spoke of bearing bad news. “What?”

“I, um, I got laid off last week.”

Daylight seemed to dim, the laughter from their children outside the screen door suddenly sounding very far away. His face slack with shock, Link looked up at his best friend—

—and saw that he was smiling.

“Wh...at?”

Rhett began pacing the length of the small kitchen, hands waving animatedly as he explained. He’d been planning to leave his job at the end of the year anyway, he said, so while not coming at the most ideal time, this event was exactly what they needed to take the plunge into a new career.

“But what career is there, Rhett?” Link hissed. “Writing dumb songs? Recording videos for our friends? We can’t make money off that.”

“I’ve been thinking.” Rhett stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the kitchen, arms crossed. “We could advertise for companies, like write songs for them or whatever. And we could do it on the internet. There’s a  _ bunch _ of websites where you can post videos free.”

He was so excited. And Link had to admit that he was tired of work, tired of feeling drained and miserable at the end of every day. The thought of doing something that he he actually  _ enjoyed _ gave him a moment of hope, and he wanted to hold onto that as long as he could.

Rhett stood before him now, hands slowly caressing Link’s arms. He seemed almost hesitant now. “What do you think, bo?” he asked softly.

Link couldn’t help thinking that Rhett was so beautiful when he was nervous, his usually sharp eyes now round and soft. With a groan, he cupped Rhett’s face in both hands and brought their mouths together. The daylight around him dimmed, outside sounds falling silent as he chased Rhett’s tongue with his own. He sensed Rhett’s surprise in the stiffness of his body, but it only took a moment before he shoved Link against the counter and returned the kiss with equal strength.

When Rhett’s hand began its journey downward, Link finally pulled away.

“Not now,” he whispered, feeling a thrill at the mixture of arousal and disappointment in Rhett’s eyes.

“When—”

“Later,” Link said firmly, trying and failing to keep his teasing grin at bay. “Listen, you convinced me, all right? If you’re really sure that we should try this, then I am, too.”

He didn’t think he’d ever seen Rhett beam at him like that in his life.

When they rejoined the others outside, Rhett now carrying his guitar, both of them were decidedly more flushed and tousled than they had been a few minutes before. Link caught their wives sharing a knowing look as their husbands reclaimed their seats but otherwise said nothing. Locke and Lily were by the cornhole targets, trying to show Lincoln how to toss beanbags properly.

“Link and I decided to do something about this job thing,” Rhett announced.

~

The next several weeks were a blur. Link left his job. His grandparents gave him and Rhett free reign of their basement, so for several days he and Rhett bought cameras and wires and lights and argued about what should go where.

The unspoken question now lingered between them:  _ what next? _

At first, they didn’t know what to do. They spent hours on the phone, sending emails, reaching out to everyone they knew to find anyone willing to pay them for their work. Jobs trickled in while they fleshed out their video ideas, but there were still days when Rhett hung up the phone and grumbled that he’d throw something if someone else asked him why they should care about being on the internet, days when Link got so anxious that he could hardly sit still.

But he trusted Rhett’s ideas, he trusted his own tenacity, and most of all, he trusted that they had made the right decision. They developed a new work schedule. They wrote more music. And sometimes, when the stresses of work got too intense and the two of them were spent from arguing for hours, they found comfort in each other—Link resting his head on Rhett’s shoulder, Rhett curling an arm around Link’s waist, quick moments of muffled passion before they went home for the evening.

“I’m glad we can do this,” Rhett told him as they shuffled exhausted the basement one night after an extended day of work. Link’s grandparents had long since gone to bed. The neighborhood was dark, silent except for a cricket valiantly chirping away nearby.

“Do what?” Link yawned, twisting the key in the lock behind them. “Make out like a high school couple?”

He yelped as a long finger poked him in the side.

“Man...” Rhett shook his head, deftly deflecting a retaliating blow. “You know what I mean.”

Link chuckled but his smile quickly faded. The two of them walked back to their cars in silence, feet crunching in the grass.

Rhett was about to wish Link goodnight, but before he could speak, a pair of arms encircled him, warm lips pressing a kiss at his throat.

“Hey,” Link whispered. “Did I ever say thank you?”

If he wasn’t already giddy at the unexpected contact, Rhett might have laughed.  _ You should be used to this by now, _ he chided himself.

“Thank you for what?” he said aloud.

“For eavesdropping that time,” Link said. “When I was talking to Christy about how I felt about you.” He was swaying slowly in the sleepiest of dances, a gentle rocking that stirred something in Rhett’s chest. He hugged Link back, breathing deeply of him, and for a brief moment he found himself blinking back tears.

“Thank you for being the one to say something,” he murmured. “Who knows what we’d be doing now if you hadn’t.”

“Well, you definitely wouldn’t have been seein’ me naked as much.”

Rhett snorted. “Who knows? Maybe I would’ve preferred that.”

“Ha ha. Funny.” Link squeezed him harder. “I’ll make sure to remind you of that the next time you wanna climb all over me.” He broke their embrace, leaving Rhett feeling suddenly cold. “I’ll see you tomorrow, man.”

“Yep.” Rhett watched him go, letting his gaze linger unashamedly. He smiled to himself. “Tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone says anything, I wreaked havoc with canon for the sake of this chapter. I think(?) Rhett got laid off before the summer of 2006 and I know Link got his glasses around the time they were filming “Looking for Ms. Locklear,” but I moved those events around. I messed with the kids’ ages a bit, too. Yay for author powers!  
> This fic ended up being more low-key than I originally hoped, but thank you all for still reading! :D

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated. :)


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